[fwd from Mike Krebs]
Makah prepare to hunt whales
By Elizabeth Murtaugh
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134428093_makah29m.html
NEAH BAY, Clallam County - A month after gray whales began their
5,000-mile migration from Mexico to the Chukchi Sea off Alaska, three
Makah families from here are preparing to set out with their cedar
canoes and harpoons.
The hunt for the whales, which may begin as early as the second week in
April, would be the first off the northwest coast of Washington since
the spring of 2000, a year after the tribe revived its ancient tradition
amid fierce protests from animal-welfare groups.
It also would be the first hunt under expanded federal marine-fisheries
regulations allowing whaling in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where waters
are calmer and safer than those off Cape Flattery.
"It comes with some restrictions, but it certainly opens up more than
before and it's based on science, which we feel very comfortable with,"
said Makah Whaling Commission President Keith Johnson.
Meanwhile, environmental groups are fuming, saying the tribe should wait
until a federal lawsuit challenging the hunt is resolved.
"We think it's outrageous that the Makah would go forward killing these
whales, especially before this litigation is resolved," said Michael
Markarian, vice president of The Fund for Animals, a New York-based
animal-rights group.
The Makah's right to whale is outlined in their 1855 treaty. The tribe
moved to resume the hunt when the whales were taken off the Endangered
Species List in 1994.
After making their case to the International Whaling Commission, Makah
whalers were allocated 20 whales through 2002, no more than five a year.
They have killed one so far, on May 17, 1999, their first in more than
70 years.
In the spring of 2000, a federal judge suspended whaling and ordered the
National Marine Fisheries Service to conduct a new, more comprehensive
environmental assessment. That study, issued last July, cleared the
hunts to resume.
It also expanded whaling territory to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Under
the previous regulations, whaling was allowed only near the tip of the
Olympic Peninsula, off the Makah reservation.
The fisheries service's second environmental assessment also declared
the Makah could hunt both migrating gray whales and those that spend
much of their time along the Washington coast. Environmentalists call
the latter "resident" whales and argue they need stronger protections.
The tribe and fisheries service call them "feeding aggregations" and
insist there is no genetic distinction between the two.
The lawsuit filed by The Fund for Animals and other environmental groups
in January challenges the expanded hunt, calling the studies that
prompted the reopening of the hunt inadequate.
The fisheries service filed its response March 18, saying its studies
clearly showed that allowing the Makah to hunt no more than five gray
whales a year from a population of about 26,000 would not threaten the
species.
The tribe defends its right to whale as a sacred tradition that does not
harm the environment. "We are stewards of our resources," Johnson said.
"We are not hunting the last whale."
A status conference is scheduled for April 23 in U.S. District Court.
The tribal whaling commission has declined to identify the families
making preparations for this spring's whale hunt. Preparations entail
physical conditioning, routine canoe maintenance and spiritual training,
Johnson said.
The timing of the hunt will depend on when the whales make their way to
the state's northern coast.
Some gray whales were sighted this week off the coast of La Push, 20
miles south of the Makah reservation, spouting and rolling in the surf.
Others have already made their way north to Alaska, where people on a
tour vessel reported a cow and her calf south of Barwell Island off Cape
Resurrection on Saturday.
The migration will continue through next month.
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